


As the Wheel turns

by Houp_kom_slakgedakru



Category: Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Genre: BDSM, Blood and Violence, Collars, Conditioning, F/F, Magic, Minor Character Death, Rape/Non-con Elements, Violence, damane, read the damn tags, sul'dam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:47:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24915607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Houp_kom_slakgedakru/pseuds/Houp_kom_slakgedakru
Summary: So this is  a story that's been buzzing in my brain for a bit.  It's not like any of my others, where the characters had respect for each other, and consent was important.  There will be LITTLE to NO consent.  i repeat, NO CONSENT.  If that's an issue, I get it.  I do.  but this is a story about someone who has their consent, their very IDENTITY, taken from them.  I have no beta, and I'm ok with it.  Some of these are going to be long, some not.Damane are considered animals by the Seanchan, and the thought of getting consent from them is ridiculous.  Like getting consent from your dog to feed her.  i also am not bothering to format this.  i'm tired, and 'Rona has been a pain in my ass, not for me, but for my patients.  i hope you all like this, cuz this is where my brain goes at 3 am when i'm struggling.  i have no financial gain, and have nothing to do with WoT, or it's author.Light willing, the Forsaken will stay bound in Shayol Ghul.
Relationships: Mat Cauthon/Fortuona Athaem Devi Paendrag, Original Characters - Relationship, Rand al'Thor/Aviendha/Min Farshaw/Elayne Trakand
Kudos: 10





	1. The Wind

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a story that's been buzzing in my brain for a bit. It's not like any of my others, where the characters had respect for each other, and consent was important. There will be LITTLE to NO consent. i repeat, NO CONSENT. If that's an issue, I get it. I do. but this is a story about someone who has their consent, their very IDENTITY, taken from them. I have no beta, and I'm ok with it. Some of these are going to be long, some not.
> 
> Damane are considered animals by the Seanchan, and the thought of getting consent from them is ridiculous. Like getting consent from your dog to feed her. i also am not bothering to format this. i'm tired, and 'Rona has been a pain in my ass, not for me, but for my patients. i hope you all like this, cuz this is where my brain goes at 3 am when i'm struggling. i have no financial gain, and have nothing to do with WoT, or it's author.
> 
> Light willing, the Forsaken will stay bound in Shayol Ghul.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become as legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come for some, an Age long past for others, a wind rose above the great mountains of Altara. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the Wheel of Time. But it was  _ a _ beginning

The wind moved over the plains, passing over babbling brook and long grasses waving in it’s wake. It passed over animals hunting people, and people hunting the animals, until it reached the sea. It rushed over the waters, dancing and making waves rise, before reaching the island of Tremalking. It passed over the shores, raising small veils of sand before reaching the grasslands that covered the shore before reaching the mountains. Passing over a humongous half-buried statue of someone holding a crystal globe, it moved until it reached a village.

Mother Selanda groaned as the wind whirled around her, shielding her eyes from the raised dirt. She’d been called to attend a birthing, Brundi having had several children with difficulty. She’d begged the Wise Woman to be there, not just for the ceremonial Seeing, but for the actual birth. “She’s had so many babies, at this point the babe can climb out on it’s own”, she groused as the wind whipped around her, and then died down. Holding her bag of herbs and supplies closer, she continued her journey into the hills, and arrived at the village where Brundi lived with her brood. Shooing the children away who were at the door, she walked in to find Brundi sitting on the bed, panting, with her face covered in sweat. Her man, Jusrit, stood there, holding her hand. ‘ _ As if men know anything about this _ .’

“Get out, and leave me room to work. Do something useful, like draw some water to wash the babe, and then wander off into the hills.." She brushed his protests off. "Just get out, this is no place for a man. Send me one of the other women.” She says to him, but not unkindly. She’s said this exact thing to him, and every other man when she helped deliver their babes. She wasn't sure what it was that made some men want to stay and get underfoot. ‘ _ Light, and they call it helping. Hmmppphh _ !!!’ He nods, and quickly runs from the room with his “Yes, Mother”, trailing after him. 

A few hours later, the babe is born, and a difficult labor it was. One of the hardest she’d seen in her many years of acting as village midwife to several villages. But the babe had been born, a lusty cry sounding even before she could clamp the cord and sever it. She had smiled, washed the babe, and handed it to Brundi, and then announced to the whole village that had been gathered outside, that Brundi had a new baby girl. Cheers rose from the people assembled, the womens voices rising in praise to the Light, the men slapping Jusrit on the back. “What are you all standing around for?”, she asks acerbically. “And you, you idiot men. Why are you congratulating him??”, and she points to Jusrit. “He had nothing to do with it, not that any of you do.” all the women gathered snickered, having heard similar comments over the years. Having MADE similar comments over the years. “Go prepare food for Brundi. It was a hard labor, she’ll need some meat to replenish the blood she lost. Something easy, a nice broth.”

She walks back for the Telling. Most of the time they’re small, banal, but this time...this time it’s different, A swelling inside, like one of the great waves that completely engulf the lower sides of the island. Her Voice sounds different, a harsh, grating sound. She’s never felt something like this, and Brundi looks at her in concern as she begins to speak. 

“For thee, at thy birth,I Foretell.

She will come for you, She with the sky fire on her heart.

She will cage you, to set you free

Break you, to make you complete

Together, your Light will drive back the darkness

And on the slopes of Shayol Ghul, you will battle the Forsaken

with the fate of the Dragon Reborn in the balance.

Brundi looks at her, holding her babe close. “Mother….what...what was that? What does it mean? Cages, and….and Shayol Ghul…..does the Awakening approach??” She’s never heard a Telling like that, not for any of her other children. Her face is white, frightened, and Mother Selanda shakes her head.

“I have no idea either. But it will be apparent eventually, Light be willing. For now, say nothing, lest you start a panic. Let the child grow, and tell her nothing. Many people have met their doom trying to avoid it. What...What are you naming the child?”

Brundi thinks for a moment. “Amee. She will be known as Amee.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

19 years later

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had begun like any other day. Amee had woken up, dressed, and then begun her duties for the day. Her siblings had mostly grown and married, making households of their own with their mates and children. Today had started out as no exception, her mother standing there, looking at the sky, wondering if it would rain. Her father was already outside, calling for her to join him at the docks, when her mother exclaimed. “By the Light!! What is that??” She pointed at what looked like a huge bird, soaring towards them. Amee could see ships below, oddly shaped craft with huge, ribbed sails, and smaller craft coming from them. “I….I think we should run, Father.


	2. The Choosing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amee gets an a'dam, and learns some of what it can do

Running did them no good. The people who lived on Tremalking were not warriors, or fighters. They followed the Water Way, almost all of them, and simply existed, allowing all things to happen, floating above. They were potters, and fishermen. Artists, and people who waited for the Lady to shine, and the Time of Illusion to come to an end. But warriors? Not a one. Within a few hours, almost everyone had been rounded up into their own villages, and they had begun to take the Oath. Huge beasts, clawed and fanged, that they had never seen before stalked the streets of the villages, rounding people up. Soldiers dressed in strange armor, their helmets shaped like insect heads, sunlight glinting off of scary looking weapons rounded people up. They separated the women from men, keeping them carefully corralled to the side. 

High Lord Turak Aladon of The Blood, Commander of the  _ Hailene,  _ stood in one of the the villages, looking over the villagers. None had fought, as was proper. He felt the breeze on his shaved head, and looked over at the guards. Letting his gaze wander, he spoke to the air, expecting that his orders would be heard and carried out. “Have them checked for  _ marath’damane _ . The  _ sul’dam  _ will be here soon. Until then, see to it that they take the Oath. Any who do not are to be made  _ da’covale _ .” His  _ so’jihn _ bowed, and moved to the commander to relay the orders. Turak walked back to the ships of the  _ Hailene,  _ awaiting an actual fight.

Amee watched as she and the other women were herded into one of the other huts, and locked in. There was some whimpering and crying, but not much. People stood in small groups, wondering what was going on. Amee didn’t understand why the invaders had come. They had taken none of the Sea People pottery that they made. No, they had simply made everyone take their silly Oath, and then let them go on with their daily business. Except the women of a certain age. They were all here. 

Amee started to feel her anger rising. She’d been taught the Water Way, had tried to accept it. But she never could. There was always something inside her that couldn’t accept it, that could never just accept things as they appeared to be. Her parents had smiled, and taken it in stride, as befitting people who lived the Water Way. She was allowed to be herself, and everyone simply adjusted for her. Like water. Before she could start yelling, the door opened, and a soldier walked in, strange weapon at the ready. “Everyone outside for the Judging”, he says. All of them are chivvied outside, and made to stand in a line. A strange sight greets Amee.

Five women are in the open space before the hut/ Four of them wear blue and red dresses, with pictures of lighning running down the chest to their skirts. The last kneels at the feet of one, something shiny on her throat, and as Amee got closer, she could see it’s a necklace. Or collar. There’s a long glittery chain that goes from it to a bracelet on one of the other woman's wrists. That woman stroked the kneeling girls head, while speaking to her, and Amee could catch some of her words, as weird as the accent is. “Nura is a good damane, yes she is. Now she’s going to help find more  _ marath’damane _ .” 

The kneeling girl, Nura, answered back in the same accent, smiling as she got petted like an animal. “Yes,  _ sul’dam.  _ Nura is a good  _ damane _ ”, and then got to her feet. The pair proceeded to walk down the line, Nura looking at everyone closely. Nothing happened until Nura got to Amee, and then Nura’s eyes opened wide. “Her”, she says, and drew back.

“Me? What about me?”, Amee asked, seeing the other women on either side edge away from her. She turned to run, and suddenly something happened. She couldn’t move, it felt like there’s immovable bands around her. She turned around, or something turned her around, and she watched one of the other women, a pretty blond, walked towards her quickly, one of those collar things in her hands. She stretched out, and fastened it around Amee’s neck, and suddenly whatever was holding her vanished. Landing on her knees, her hands scrabbled at it, ignoring the blond woman. “Get it off!!! Get it off, get it off, getitoff!!!”

Nobody made a move to take it off. The blond woman looked at her,  **_smiled_ ** at her. “You were  _ marath’damane _ , and are now  _ damane _ . You belong to the Empress, may She reign on the Crystal Throne forever. My name is Dagna. How are you called?”

“A what???” Amee gaped at this woman, this Dagna. “Get this Light-forsaken collar off of me!! Get it off!!!” She felt her temper, never truly under control at the best of times begin to rise, and she snarled. She charged the woman, well aware of the glittering chain that connected the collar to Dagna’s wrist. Dagna smoothly pivoted and moved out of the way, tripping her in the process, never losing her smile.

“It seems in this land”, she said conversationally, “people don’t understand the danger that  _ marath’damane  _ pose. Or how to act. Very well, let us have your first lesson. You are  _ damane _ , a Leashed One. I am your  _ sul’dam _ , the Leash Holder, and as the person who leashed you, the bulk of your training falls to me. You must always protect your  _ sul’dam  _ above yourself, and never strike at her. Any harm she takes will be felt by you fivefold. But it seems that you need to learn that lesson. Very well.” She stood there, and smiled. “Go ahead, hit me as hard as you can.”

Amee stared at her, and before she could think better, she charged Dagna, and tried to kick her in the stomach as hard as she could. She connected with the other woman, she knows she did. The next thing she knew, she was down on the floor, moaning, trying to breathe. Her stomach hurt like she’d been hit by a falling tree, every movement agony across her middle. She couldn’t catch her breath, and after long moments, the feeling passed. She looked up in agony at Dagna, who simply smiled at her, and spoke again, like a child to a dog who misbehaved. “See? I warned you. You must always guard your  _ damane,  _ even unto death. Her death is yours as well.”

“I’m…..I’m not what…”, Amee stubbornly gasped out. “Get this blasted thing off of me!! Please, just take it off!!!!”

Dagna nodded, and sighed. “Very well, I’ll indulge you this one time. But if you keep this up, you’ll learn some of what the  _ a’dam  _ can do, and you won't be happy.” Turning to one of the other  _ sul’dam _ , she spoke in a flowing language, and the woman sighed, but took her bracelet off, handing it to Dagna. Dagna stepped forward, and chose someone at random. “I’m going to put this on you”, she said, and she did. “You have naught to fear. Hold this”, and she dropped the bracelet into the waiting girls hands. “Now walk across to her, “and she indicated the other  _ sul’dam _ , “and give it back to her.” The girl looked at her oddly, but did as commanded, and the other  _ sul’dam  _ lifted the collar off of her. 

Walking to Amee, who simply stared up at her, panting in pain, even as it receded, Dagna smiled. Undoing the bracelet on her wrist and dropping it to the floor, Dagna stepped back. “If you can take that bracelet to that  _ sul’dam  _ right now, I'll take the  _ a’dam  _ off, and never bother you again. I swear it by the Light.” Amee stared at her, looking for the trick, but there seemed to be none. Seeing freedom, she grabbed the bracelet, pushed herself up to her feet, and began to walk. The first step was ok, but she started feeling a bit nauseous by the second step. Putting her foot down for the third time, she thought she would spew everywhere. The next step she does, falling to her knees and vomiting what felt like everything she’d ever eaten in her life. And then the cramps started, each muscle in her limbs and stomach all seizing and contracting at the same time. It felt like forever before she had the strength to scream, and she fell to her side, avoiding the vomit somethow. The pain seemed to last for hours, and when she came to herself, Dagna kneeled next to her, bracelet on her wrist, rubbing her back. “There, do you see now? A  _ damane  _ cannot move her bracelet more than a few steps from where her  _ sul’dam  _ placed it. You are  _ damane _ . Accept it. Now, I ask you again. How are you called?”

“What does it matter?”, another of the  _ sul’dam  _ called to her in irritated tones. “Give it a new name, and have done with it.”

“Many  _ sul’dam  _ believe that  _ damane  _ should receive a new name when they are leashed, if they are allowed a name at all”, Dagna said in mild tones. “I am your trainer, though, and I would allow you to keep yours, if you don’t displease me.”

Amee shuddered, the pain slowly fading. “Amee. My name is Amee.”

Dagna smiles at her. “There, you see? That wasn’t so hard.” She began to gently pet Amee. “Amee…”, she said, rolled it around on her tongue. “Amee...It’s a nice name.”

“Now lets go.” 

_ Hailene _ = The Return

_ Marath’damane _ = Those who Must be Leashed (a woman who can channel and hasn’t been leashed yet)

_ sul’dam  _ = Leash holder 

_ Da’covale _ = one who is owned (slave)

_ So’jihn =  _ Height among lowness (a top ranking slave who, depending on the person they served, could have more influence than a noble)

_ Damane  _ = Leashed One (any woman who could channel and wears the collar)

_ a’dam  _ = The magical collar a  _ damane  _ wears, able to do many things in the hands of a  _ sul’dam.  _ Most of all, prevents channeling unless directed by a _sul'dam_


	3. Time to leave

“Wait...Go? Go where?” Amee stood her ground, after Dagna began to walk away. Dagna kept walking, and Amee gritted her teeth, waiting for the tug on her collar. It came, but it also came with a burning sensation to the soles of her feet, and Amee gasped and hopped, but saw nothing there. Dagna turned to her with a smile.

“The  _ a’dam  _ can be used for many things, Amee. It can give great pleasure, can allow you to channel or not as I wish, and can also cause you great pain. Pain like you wouldn’t believe. So far I've been lenient with you. But my patience with you is at an end. So unless you’d like to get a taste, I suggest you come with me. Quietly.” She started walking again, and Amee followed, the pain in her feet having subsided, and then she stopped again. Her mother was looking at her, silently crying, tears rolling down her face, and Amee had the sudden feeling that she would never see her again. Dagna looked at her as she also stopped short, and the burning began, but fiercer this time.

“Owww!!”, Amee whined, hopping back and forth. “Please!! I...I just want to say good-bye to my mother. Please!!!”

Dagna huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “In Seanchan, when  _ marath’damane  _ are found, their names are stricken from the family, as if they never existed. Even being Family of the Empress is not enough to shield one from this. But…”, and she sighed. “We are not in Seanchan, and you do not know these things. I will allow you one goodbye, on the condition that you follow me to the ship without question, and without trouble. Otherwise, I will make you curse the day your father laid with your mother. Do we have a deal?”

Amee nodded, frantically. “Under the Light, I swear it.”  _ ‘And I even mean it. Once we get to the ship, though…’ _

Dagna smileed, almost as if she knew what Amee was thinking. “Very well. Let us go to your mother.” She walked closer to Brundi, allowing Amee to run up and hug her. “Momma”, she whispered. “Momma, I’m scared.”

Brundi smiled through her tears, caressed her face. “That makes this the first time i’ve ever heard you admit that since you were two years old. There’s nothing to fear, child. I know you are not made for the Water way. But think on this. If they had wished you dead, you would be. No, it will be hard, but you are strong, and you will survive. Who knows, maybe you will make a new way. A Stone Way.” She hugged her daughter close. “I will always love you, just as much as when old Mother Selanda placed you in my arms for the first time.” She looked over at Amee, at a Dagna that was clearly about to inflict pain on her daughter. “I love you, Amee. Be good, and walk in the Light always. When you see the moon, know that I’m looking at the same moon, thinking of you.” Kissing her forehead, she released her. “Go, child. I don’t want you to be in pain.”

"I love you, Momma. Say goodbye to Poppa for me." Amee sobbed as she spoke, and gave one more hug before she turned and walked away.

Dagna waited, and then began walking, and Amee had no choice but to follow, walking backwards. Her last sight of her mother was Brundi walking after her, corralled by soldiers, her hand raised in a goodbye. Tears streamed down her face, and she followed, sobbing. Dagna didn’t stop walking, or say anything, choosing to walk in silence. After a few minutes she stopped, and spoke. “The proper way to walk with your  _ sul’dam  _ is on whichever side the bracelet is on, a pace behind. We begin your training now, Amee, so attend me.”

“Yes, Dagna.” Amee was so mad, she could have chewed rocks and spit out sand, but she gave her word, and she ALWAYS kept her word. She stood and walked to the place that Dagna pointed at silently, as if she was a dog, and the thought rankled. She thought about beating her again, but even if the thought of the pain she would feel hadn’t stopped her, she had swore, and Dagna smiled. 

“You’re learning, Amee. I can feel you, your emotions and state of mind through the  _ a’dam,  _ so don’t bother lying. You wanted to thrash me just now, but thought better of it. Good girl. Soon you won’t even think about it.” They start walking again, Amee following, and they catch up with the other  _ sul’dam _ . “So, Amee, do you have any Talents?”

“I...I can hold my breath for a long time, and I can spear a fish from five paces.” All the  _ sul’dam  _ laughed at her, leaving Amee to wonder why.

“Oh, Amee. I mean Talent in the Power.” Dagna chuckled, and they continued walking.

“The….The Power? You mean like an Aes Sedai?? I don’t know how to channel, never did it. I swear by the Light, I’ve never channelled.” Dagna kept walking, but huffed once. Amee yelped as what felt like a stout switch hit her across the seat of her pants, and she squealed, jumped up and rubbed herself. “What….why did you do that?? I’m telling the truth!!! Can’t your magic collar tell you that?”

“The  _ a’dam  _ can only tell me what you’re feeling, Amee. Not whether you’re lying to yourself or not. But Nura picked you out, and she is a good  _ damane _ . You can feel the  _ a’dam _ , it’s control. You CAN channel, Amee.” Dagna looks at the other sul’dam, speaks in that flowing language again, and then looks back at her. “It’s possible that you haven’t sparked yet, your ability to channel present but not flowered. You need someone to help guide you, let you open the ability.”

The sul’dam who has Nura’s collar, looked at her. Nura immediately prostrated herself before her. “ _ Sul'dam _ , Nura is sorry. She doesn’t know how. Please,  _ sul’dam _ . Nura is a good  _ damane _ .” Her  _ sul’dam  _ comes over and coos at her, petting her, calming her.

“Nura is good, Nura isn’t in trouble. Nura is a good  _ damane _ ”, and started tickling her, rubbing her back. Nura giggled, and stood up, helped up by her  _ sul'dam _ . They started walking again, and Dagna sighed. “No matter. If there’s no  _ damane  _ on our ship that can do it, then one of the other ships must have one.” Turning to Amee, Dagna looks at her, up and down. “What are you wearing? Your parents allowed you to walk around like this?”

Amee looked down at her clothes, her shirt and short trews. “I’m a fisher and a pearl diver. I can’t wear dresses on a boat, Dagna. Too much loose fabric, and I would never be able to dive…..” Her face fell as she realized something. “I’m...I’m never going to be allowed into the ocean again, am I?”

Dagna shakes her head, and then pauses. “Perhaps, as a treat for you. If you are a good  _ damane _ , and train hard, it’s possible. As it is, I allow you to call me by my name, as a mark of favor. Any other  _ sul’dam  _ that completes you, holds your  _ a’dam _ , you will address as  _ ‘sul’dam’ _ , as Nura does. Should you vex me, you will lose that privilege.” She keeps walking, saying nothing, and soon enough they get to the docks. The strange ships are there, ribbed sails furled, and soldiers standing smartly at attention. More of those lizard-cat beasts are prowling around, and Amee shies away from them as they get close enough to one for Amee to smell it’s rank odor.

“It’s not unheard of in newly conquered lands for someone, usually a lover or parent, to try to free a  _ damane _ ”, Dagna says conversationally. “The  _ torm _ are used to hunt them down. The person who freed them is painted with a substance that we use to encourage  _ torm _ to mate, and then given to them. What’s left doesn’t even look human. The  _ damane  _ loses a hand for running. The next time she tries, she loses a foot.” Dagna can feel Amee’s terror and she notes that. “The  _ torm  _ ALWAYS find their prey.”

Amee edges closer to Dagna, away from the  _ torm _ and the soldier riding it, and they get closer to the ship. Soldiers are standing at attention, another soldier in differently colored armor standing in front of them. Porters carry supplies onto the ships, and if she closes her eyes, Amee can think that she’s on the docks, about to go out on a boat to fish. The fantasy is broken the moment she moves her head, feels the collar around her throat. She turns to Dagna and scoffs. “You don’t know the Water Way if you think someone is going to come for me.”

“The...The water Way?” Dagna sounds confused, and she is. She’s never heard of this philosophy, and she stops, looking at amee.

“Yes, the Water Way.” Amee looks up, sighing, and recites from memory. “As Water conforms to its environment, so do we. As Water strives to be at peace, so do we. As Water does not fight, merely flows with the tides, so do we.” She turns to Dagna, and shrugs. “That’s the basic gist of it. Basically, go with the flow. So if you are worried about a rescue, it’s not happening. Not from them, anyways.” She hikes a thumb back the way they came. Dagna nods, it’s similar to some other philosophies she’s heard from other places. 

“Then we don’t need to worry about needing the  _ torm _ , do we? Good, let’s board.” Walking up the gangplank, she can feel Amee’s distress, her fear. And an undercurrent of sad humor. 

‘ _ I never said I follow it _ ’, Amee thinks, as she walks up the gangplank, and leaves her home behind.


	4. Time to leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tenses were a bit off when writing this chapter, it's been a rough go, so...i'm sorry.

Amee stands on the strange ship, watching people move to and fro. Everyone gives her not even a single glance, even as they bow to Dagna and speak respectfully. It’s like she’s invisible. She stands there looking at the shore, until she feels a tug on the  _ a’dam _ . Turning around, she sees Dagna standing there, an incomprehensible look on her face. “They have work to do, preparing for the Return. We are going to go below, where I’ll show you your room, and go over everything else with you. Come.”

Amee turned and followed her, bare feet sure on the ship, adjusting automatically to the roll of the waves. Walking down below, she saw many things that were typical of any large sailing vessel. Bolted down cabinets, covered portholes to let light in, chairs that swiveled. She got a sharp sting across her ass when she peered down a hallway. “THAT is for the crewmen, and no place for a  _ damane _ ”, she was told as she rubbed herself. “Not that any  _ sul’dam _ would ever take you there. But should any crewmember come to the kennels, they would be executed. To lie with a  _ damane  _ is…. _ sei’moseiv _ . Any caught doing such an act would beg to have a quick execution.”

Amee wrinkles her nose. She’d never been attracted to men anyways, much preferring the company of the other girls from the village. Her parents had known, and they’d simply shrugged, following the Water Way. It wasn’t a big deal, and there were plenty of children from other families. “You didn’t need to do that, Dagna. That’s not an issue, nor will it ever be. I would never...willingly….lie with a man, so there’s not much to worry about. You don't need to be so rough about it.” She say Dagna furrow her brow, and then nod as understanding was reached.

“Ahhhh. You are...i believe they call them pillow friends here. Well, that is no matter. What  _ damane  _ do with other  _ damane  _ means nothing. Like dogs frollicing together, but of less value. Now come.” Feeling a tug on the leash around her throat, she turns and follows Dagna down another hallway. Moving deeper into the ship, Amee soon finds herself in a hallway that was lined with doors. Except none of them HAD a door, they were just frames. Passing a few of them, Amee looks inside. Not all of them were occupied, but some had a single occupant. One has a girl in it, clearly Seanchan by birth. She sits on her bed,  _ a’dam  _ sitting on a hook on the wall. She looks up as they pass, and she smiles as she sees Dagna. “ _ Sul’dam _ ”, she says, and bows her head. The room was put together, clean, because there was nothing in it. A bed, a bolted down chair, a small wash cup and basin, and that was it. And yet the girl sat it like it was the finest room she’d ever been in.

Dagna sees her looking, and smiles. “Everything a  _ damane  _ receives comes from her  _ sul’dam _ . If her  _ sul’dam  _ wants her to be dressed in nothing but her shift, then that is what she wears. If her  _ sul’dam  _ wishes her to sleep in the stables with the horses, then that is where she sleeps. Remember that, Amee. What is given can be very quickly taken away.” 

Amee glares balefully at her captor as they move farther down the hallway. The urge to hit her was strong, and she hears Dagna chuckle. “See? You learn how futile it would be. You’re already learning, Amee. Soon you won’t even have such thoughts.”

They pass more open rooms, and Amee saw some of her own people in there. Older women, girls, all ages were represented. Of the older women, all were Mothers, the wise women who could heal the sick and birth babies. They all sat there placidly, even as tears marred their cheeks. Followers of the Water Way, they hadn’t fought or raised a fuss. Merely adjusting to new circumstances. She shakes her head, trying to figure out a way to fight. Dagna leads her into an empty room, and then smiles at her.

“This is your room”, she tells Amee. “when you’re not above decks with me, or in the galley eating, you’ll be here. I’ll have to see about finding you proper clothing.” She takes the bracelet off, hanging it on the hook. It’s got an upward curve and lip, Amee can see, so that it won’t dislodge, even during a storm.

“Dagna, wait!!”, she calls after the  _ sul’dam  _ who is halfway out the door. “Ummmm, please, wait”, she amends, as Dagna turns around with a look on her face that tells amee she’s treading close. “What am I supposed to do when you’re not here? Or someone else? I...i can’t just sit here staring at the walls. I’ll go mad.”

Dagna stares at her, considering. Even animals had things to occupy their time when they weren’t in use. “Very well.”

Amee smiles, refusing to bow her head, even though inside she’s fuming at even this level of submission. “Can i have some books? Or...i don’t know what you Seanchan use...scrolls? I like to read, Father paid one of the Sea People to give me lessons.”

Dagna nods. “I can do that.” She leaves the room, smiling to herself. “This one”, she says to herself in her native language, “will be something special. I can feel it.” Making her way to the galley, she pours herself a cup of  _ kaff _ , and cradles it warmth, inhaling both its heat and its aroma. Several other  _ sul’dam  _ walk in, all the women assigned to this ship. “Greetings, Dagna”, one of them, Herulin, says, her hand raised in greeting. She smiled and walked over to the others, holding her cup and joined with them. “How was your search?”

“Not terrible. There was a small number of  _ marath’damane  _ to be found. None of them fought or attempted to do anything to us to prevent their taking, which strikes me as odd. These lands don’t seem to understand the danger that  _ marath’damane  _ pose.”

“They follow this philosophy called the Water Way”, Dagna tells them. “My  _ damane  _ explained it to me in part. It’s primarily a philosophy of passivity, not fighting, accepting whatever comes and adapting to it. From what she didn’t say, I gather that the rest of this new land doesn’t understand their proper place and duties.”

“Well, that means that there will be more  _ marath’damane  _ to find”, one of the other say. Dagna, looks at her, remembers that she’d not found one, and wasn’t able to train or be complete as often as she wanted. THere were always more  _ sul’dam  _ than  _ damane _ . Making a non-committal sound, and inclining her head, she takes her cup and rises. Leaving the group while holding her  _ kaff _ , she walked back up to the deck, and watched the sailors make preparations to leave. She stands there, deep in thought as the supplies were loaded,  _ torm  _ and  _ grolm  _ were placed back into their respective cages and loaded, and all was made ready to leave. Eventually all was ready, and the captain looks at the high Lord for leave to continue, as is proper. The High Lord, for His part, doesn’t acknowledge the captain, merely looks up into the distance and nods once. 

Sailors cast off the lines with shouts, and slowly the vessel began to move away from the shore. Dagna looked towards the front of the ship, looking with eagerness at the open sea. This was one of the best things she enjoyed, seeing new lands and the joy of moving forward.

Amee looked up as she felt the vessel begin to move, the feeling a part of her bones. A part of her soul. The longer they moved, and as the vessel began to change course, Amee begins to sing, tears rolling down her face. It was an old song sung on Trelling, but only sung when ships didn’t return, and all were lost. A song about a grieving woman, standing on the mountain, weeping for her family that were lost to the sea. Never to return, never to be seen again. And soon another voice joined hers from further down the hall. It was an older womans voice, scarred but deep, and it joins hers, and then another, a younger girl, and then another. And soon the passage sounds of the sad song and weeping, as the taken move farther away.

The sun began to slowly lower over the horizon, and Dagna watched it with a sense of happiness, since it was lovely. Truly lovely to be able to watch, as her own home deep in the mountains never had a view quite like this. She heard something, and turned with a frown. It sounded like singing, but a mournful, sad dirge that she didn’t understand but somehow made her heart ache. And it was coming from...she took a few steps, and then nodded. Coming from the damane kennels. “Silly  _ damane _ ”, she thinks to herself, even as she keeps listening. “They don’t realize just how dangerous they are, how this is for the good of all. This is for the best for them. One day they will see that.” But the song stays with her as she watches the sun set.


	5. The Storm, part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i divided this chapter into two parts, and well....you'll see.

Amee falls asleep after she’s done singing. The women talk to each other from their rooms, even though the  _ damane  _ from Seanchan merely tell them to accept this, that this is the best fate they could have. Amee scoffs at them. To be caged, to be chained up and treated less than an animal is NOT what she had in mind when she thought of her future. “You’re wrong. With training, we could have been Mothers. We could have...have been Aes Sedai.”

“Aes….are you mad? Women with the ability to channel, without being chained, or controlled in some way? The devastation they could cause is...In Seanchan, we know the danger  _ marath’damane  _ pose. Clearly you don’t.” The girls says nothing else on the matter, merely staying silent. Amee grits her teeth, and then moves to the floor, beginning her exercises. Ever since she was a little girl, she had wanted to be a pearl diver and fisherman. The older fisherman had laughed at her, telling her she was too scrawny, that she didn’t have the muscles to pry the shellfish from the rock. To throw a spear long, hard, and fast enough to spear a fish, or row a canoe to where it needed to be. To swim far or ast enough.

Well, she had proven them wrong. With the stubbornness that was her primary trait, she set out to become stronger. And this was how she did it. Bracing herself on her toes and knuckles, she slowly lowers her chest to the floor, and back up. She does that thirty times, then takes a break, rolling to her back, and quickly sits back up, and then down. Thirty times, and then back over to her chest. She did that three times, then got up, sweating. She begins to slowly lower herself up and down, holding her hands out, thirty times, then stretches, and does it again. Then she raises up on her tiptoes, holds it, and rolls back down, Again, thirty times. Taking a sip of water from the pitcher, then looking out the porthole. Sniffing, she smirks. There was a storm brewing, and around here they could creep up quickly. She could warn them...but she chooses not to.

Moving to the wall, she stands against it and then slowly lowers herself into a sitting position, and holds it there for as long as she can, until her legs are shaking. Standing up, she does her squats again, then back to the wall sit. When her exercises are done, she takes another sip, and lays down on the bed. Fully cognizant of the chain linking her to the damn bracelet, and how much room she has to move around the room. She whispers goodnight to her family, and then sleeps.

She’s not sure what wakes her up. Could be the booking thunder, or the yelling of the sailors from up top. Either way, she’s awake in an instant, feeling the ship move beneath her, boards creaking. She knows, within an instant, that the storm was upon them. Grinning, she sat back, and then wondered if having the ring move because of the storm would bring the same effects. She shrugged, and then sat back.

Dagna woke up as the ship rolled and moved, and she’s out of bed quickly, moving to change from her nightgown into her clothing. The lightning and the thunder move through the room, casting everything into stark relief. Her lantern swayed back and forth, it’s covered light still shining, but now the shadows are moving. Putting on just the basics and her boots, she moves into the hallway and up the stairs, where the door is. “You can’t get out that way”, she was told by another  _ sul’dam _ . “They sealed the doorway to keep the ship from flooding.” Unable to leave, and unwilling to sit in her room, Dagna makes her way through the hallways of the rolling ship. To the  _ damane  _ kennels, where she finds her Amee laying in her bed, still fully clothed. 

Amee watches as Dagna lurches through the doorway. Clearly, the woman had never been in a squall at sea. She looked positively green, and Amee was enjoying her discomfort. “You know, you can feel the ship move up and down so much”, she says, and stifles a laugh as Dagna runs for the small pot in the corner. Grins as Dagna retches into it, quite happy that she used it before all this started.

Dagna looks up, feeling even more nauseous as the smell of the used pot hits her nose. “You...how doesn’t this bother you?”

Amee grinned. “First off, I’m a fisherman, so this isn’t new to me. I was on a boat before I was able to walk. Secondly, I’m watching you be sick, and that makes me feel better. Thirdly, there’s not much I can do with this stupid thing on my neck, so I’m just going to enjoy watching you stick your face into my piss. Fourth…”, and she grins, “I don’t know if the boat being wrecked will move this in such a way that I can’t swim and I die. And I’m fairly certain that I know the waters around here and you don’t...but I also know that dying is better than living like this.” She shrugs. “So there you have it.”

Suddenly the boat heaves, and Dagna is thrown off her feet. In a flash, Amee is on top of her, trying to get purchase around her throat. Slamming her head into the floor, face full of rage. “Let me out of this collar, and I’ll let you live”, she snarls into Dagna’s face. “I swear it by the Light.” Lightning flashed through the porthole, and thunder boomed as Amee crouched over her, one hand on her throat.


End file.
